A story about two college friends - both of whom have girlfriends - who fall in love and embark on a relationship that they swear will never go beyond the sexual (as the romantic part belongs to their girlfriends alone)... But which inevitably ends up being much more complicated than that and becomes subject to the scrutiny of all those involved.

It's good, but I don't agree that it gets better with age. When I was younger it seemed so tragically romantic. The desperate love, the sacrifices, the tolerance. It all seemed to beautifully painful, but now it seems so unhealthy, so implausible, so irrational. I didn't mind how the relationships were set out, but all the games were unnecessary. The uncle shouldn't have gotten away unscathed. Do the parents know what he did? Anyway, I enjoyed it. It's yaoi. The angst is what makes it so good. Guilty pleasures and stuff. Also, my fave character in this is Reiko. Miki or whatever was so indecisive.

I totally agree with CuthienSilmeriel, that it gets "better with age", as I have read this at least thrice and I bet that in future I will go back to this jewel again. I remeber what I felt when I read it first, I couln't even finish this. [spoiler] I was so disgusted and couldn't comprehend how the guys could keep making out and telling "I love you" to each other while going out openly with their girlfriends; even if the girlfriends looked cool about it and tried to "kept them" together and called their boyfriend fools and etc... I just hated cheating and couldn't appreciate that desire and love can be seperated and doesn't have to be together...It was just so fucked up that I couldn't appreciate anything...[spoiler]

But I came across this manga again few years later and decided to give it a try, and I am so glad that I did, because this manga is not something you would like to miss out.

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

Now being more mature and have recognize what deep dark and twisted feelings are I started to see the feelings, the reasoning behind all of character's actions and I must say that such pure feelings of love and self-sacrifice don't come everyday. It was so beautiful that it made me cried and depressed. :D Even if it seemed fucked up, but that may be only, because we live in such a pathetic and closed-minded society. They were not doing anything morally wrong, just exploring the barriers of love and desire in their own way.

Now, that I read it for the third time, I will only say this...Go an read it yourself.. You don't know what you are missing out.

This manga is about two guys who are obsessed with one another, but instead of just being straight about it, they turn it into a twisted game; two seriously broken, messed up men...It's got it's good and bad points, but overall, I gotta say I liked this manga.The characters are all playing a game, gambling and making bets; I love how that is portrayed, that the girls are manipulating the guys and vice versa, all while testing the boundaries of lust vs love.I really liked the back and forth here, how they get closer but are scared of it and back off again, it's a nice mix with the smut scenes... the tension between the main characters is first class!

Usually I don't like women in BL manga (they usually only cause unneeded drama) and I also don't like it when the guys have other partners at the same time but, it does work in this manga.It's not a quick and simple read, it's complicated, it's realistic even though it's not a common situation...

There's a lot of avoidance, pretending, faking and lies here... they do all sorts of 'usually unforgivable things' here so if you prefer BL with characters who can just say something straight out, or "just do it", this might be too long-wound for you but otherwise, if you are not bothered by the fact that these guys both have girlfriends, then go for it!

...minus the scanlation/translation. I know they tried their best to distinguish between love and desire but it was still a bit difficult to digest the rest of the dialogues.That aside, this is definitely a must read for a mature audience. Motoni's works are always beautiful and I've teared up reading a number of them already, this one included : )

okay its a yaoi but it wasnt arousing. its like reading a shojo.. the plot on the other hand was interesting, quite different, something i never read before.. i understood why it had 13 chapters cause it seems it wasnt the type to drag on are else it was gana be dropped or become boring..

This is a story with truly beautiful feelings, regardless of it being yaoi, I'm so touched by how the two main characters feel for each other. In the end, a relationship is always about what you feel.. this is Motoni sensei's best work, and probably the best yaoi I've ever read

I first read this when I was still a teenager and had a very naive view. I felt the manga was confusing and illogical, that the characters were unrealistic and basically hated the whole thing.

I just re-read it with the benefit of a few more years and a whole pile more experience behind me. I LOVE it!!! Seriously, what seemed so convoluted and nonsensical before makes perfect sense to me. Yes, the whole situation is messed up, but that is the point! Relationships are not fairytales, people are misunderstood, feelings change, and often people are too scared or concerned to find happiness. I especially liked the way all of the characters were willing to sacrifice personal happiness for the happiness of the one they loved.

One of my favourite parts was seeing the difference between the way Reiko (the older woman) and Miku (the younger woman) handle the who situation. Miku loved like a girl. filled with dreams of marriage and unable to fully appreciate the consequences of her initial decision until it was too late to turn back the clock. She loved wholly and deeply, but without truly understanding her boyfriend, like she was more in love with the idea of love than with Fujio. Reiko, however, had the bittersweet love of a woman who no longer feels like she will be young forever, and is starting to feel the clock tick, so does not want to relinquish her tentative grasp on her boyfriend even know she knows full well that he will never be hers. Her willingness to compromise more, to support the males more fully, and her resignation in accepting the leftovers really defines her as a cool-headed, experienced business woman and sets her apart from Miku.

As for the boys, their reluctance to admit their feelings due to the expectations of society was very beautifully potrayed. The need to have rules and boundries, the desire to keep their girlfriends as justification, and the slow acceptance was what really defined this manga for me as outstanding. Sure, they acted in a strange way, did stupid things and were very frustrating at times, but that is love. People do not act rationally or logically when feelings are involved, especially feelings that have been repressed for so long. Both of them were desperately trying to wash away feelings that were only running deeper each passing year, they were unable to completely cut ties with each other and yet could not accept each other because they knew their passion would overrul their sensibilities. Watching them slowly break down the walls that have been in place for years was very moving.

I think it is a shame that English can not fully convey the delicate meanings of this manga, a lot is lost in the translation which can make the whole thing seem very confusing. I felt this could have been more appealing with a better translation.

Over all, this is a manga well worth reading. Just stick with it, it is worth the struggle and the whole things become clearer after a second reading.

P.S. To the people who are bothered by the fact a woman was made to get an abortion. SPOILER ALERT It turns out the woman was lying about being pregnant in the first place. I know it hardly justifies his attitude, but at least the woman was actually traumatised in that way.

It's basically a story of a bunch of sex friends who are (or rather, think they are) happy with their casual relationships. If focuses on two bisexual guys who are sleeping with each other. Each of them has a 'girlfriend,' and they're chill about what their bf's are doing together. The rest of it's all crazy drama as they all try to figure out what they really want out of relationships. [Hint: Maybe "going casual" isn't the best sort of relationship after all]

I rated it highly because it feels very *real.* It's like a soap opera. And when done right, that sort of thing can be interesting, as in this case. The characters have to travel a lot way and work through lots of fights and arguments and "acting out" to settle things.

If you want a nice, rosy story about sweet lovin' this isn't it. DON'T READ THIS STORY IF YOU LIKE PERFECT CHARACTERS. They are REAL characters. The kinds that make you want to shake them and slap them over the head. And there be lots of yellin' and slappin' and hurt feelings in here.

And if you only like "pure yaoi" (a.k.a. "no naked women") then you should probably steer clear too. Like I said, the guys are bi, they have their bedroom times with their gfs.

Notes to other reviews: Out of fan-translations I've seen, this is nowhere near the worst. Besides, what do you expect from unofficial translations you didn't pay a cent for?

And for the review about the abortion: yeah, the guy's a jerk; these are regular messed-up characters, and any way, you must not have read very far because **SPOILER** the gf lied about being pregnant so yeah, like I said...

this whole series revolves around that single question. if you don't have the patience to sit along with the characters as they figure this out (3 volumes), then this is not for you.

i really liked this series. i agree, the translation can use some improvement but i can tell it's not easy translating this so i'll let that pass. this series does not give any simple & direct answers to the definition of love but the answer will shine through if you are reading and understanding the characters.

i admit it's a bit slow in the beginning because you are just getting introduced to the characters and the story but as the story develops, things start making sense and fall into place.

earlier reviewers have said that this series is full of dysfunctional, stupid characters with no relationship skills -- i beg to differ. They're "dysfunctional" and "stupid" BECAUSE they're strung up between the tough concepts of 'desire' and 'love' (central themes in this series). If you've EVER been in love with anyone and have actually BEEN in a relationship with them you would be able to understand this. Since when did "love" go together with things like "common sense"?

There is no straight forward narration crap like "He is a manipulative, jealous man" blah blah blah that you see in 2nd rate manga...the characters are defined by their actions and their histories, not defined by the manga-ka's laziness.

I really don't understand why this manga has such a high rating. The translation is bad and made me unable to enjoy it and follow the plot. Maybe it is unfair to rate it low because this is not the mangaka's fault, but the translator's. However, can't read Japanese so I'm stuck with the scanlated version, which in my opinion sucks.